The 27-year-old daughter of slain Sandy Hook Elementary School Principal Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung may not have the money to come to Washington to lobby for gun-control legislation. So she's using a less-expensive way to reach Republican senators who are threatening to filibuster efforts to change the nation's gun laws: Twitter.

Lafferty's social media barrage -- her Twitter handle is @)E_Laffs2 -- has targeted the 14 Republicans who have pledged to join a filibuster, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. She attached poignant photos of her mom and her family, trying to appeal to the human side of the lawmakers.

"Here is a pic of my mom & sister on her wedding day," Lafferty wrote to Cruz. "I don't get that at my wedding in July."

Lafferty, of Naugatuck, was joined in her Twitter campaign by Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who sent tart messages to each of the senators. Lafferty tried another tactic -- old-fashioned telephone calls to the lawmakers.

"Call me back," she demanded in a tweet. "I'm not going away."

After three days of effort, Lafferty has heard from only one Republican: Cruz.

The first-term Texas senator -- who is pledging to lead a filibuster to block Senate consideration of a gun-control package, which includes expanded background checks of firearms purchasers -- called her Tuesday afternoon to express his sympathy and to hear her concerns.

Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said the two spoke for "10 to 15 minutes" and had "a cordial conversation."

Lafferty expressed her frustration at the threatened filibuster and asked Cruz some pointed questions: "What would have happened if my mom chose not to do her job? How many more people would have died if my mom had chosen to hide?"

Cruz did not back down from his filibuster threat against any proposal he sees as a threat to the Second Amendment.

"They agreed to disagree," said Frazier.

Lafferty responded to the conversation, naturally, on Twitter.

"At least he called (me) back," she wrote, followed by the hashtag #ThanksButNoThanksCruz.

With 13 senators to go, Lafferty is showing no signs of slowing down.

"Hey Senators, my mom did her job,'' she tweeted Wednesday. ``It's time to do yours!! I WILL BE HEARD!!!!!!!"